Saturday, March 4, 2017

Dealing with the Divide - courage, caring and Christian community

We did it. This morning at Ascension, about 30 of us pulled
our chairs into a circle and we listened to one another. It wasn’t easy. For
some, it took every ounce of courage they could muster just to be there. And
I’m thankful that our Christian community meant so much to them that they felt
called to show up.

Last Sunday I challenged the congregation in a sermon to put
Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount about reconciling with one another into
action. I talked about the elephant in the room since early November when our President
was elected. Despite strong feelings, we have avoided talking about it. We have
been polite, but we have avoided looking one another in the eye, and that is
not what the life of reconciliation looks like.

And so, this morning we gathered to listen to one another,
for the purpose of understanding. We didn’t gather to argue, or to convince one
another that we’re right and they’re wrong. As we shared with one another, we
were reminded of all that we have in common as God’s people. And because of
that, we were able to listen to our differences and acknowledged them, forbearing
with one another in love.

The morning was not without discomfort. We began with
prayer and a reading of Ephesians 4:1-6. Then we went over some basic ground
rules for our time together before splitting into two groups. This was the most
difficult part of the morning. For some, it meant “outing” themselves among
those who had no idea how they had voted in the presidential election. I had been
concerned that there might have been only a few who had voted for DJT at our
meeting. It turns out that was not the case. The group was close to evenly
divided.

The two groups separated. Each was assigned the task of
compiling a list of 5-10 things they wanted the other group to understand about
them. As I floated back and forth between the two, I was taken aback by the raw
emotion within both groups. Had this really been such a good idea, after all? I
had to keep reminding myself that, without openness and honesty, there is no
genuine community. Yes, it’s painful, but it’s the only way to go.

After they compiled their lists of things they wanted the
other group to understand about them, I asked them to get inside the heads of
the people in the other room and come up with what they imagined the other
group would say about themselves on their list. That seemed to be easier for
them, although I could see that this process could have taken all day. They had
plenty to say among themselves, where they felt safe.

Then came the scary part. We got back together and we
compared lists. Those who didn’t vote for President Trump had a list of things
they wanted those who did vote for President Trump to understand about them, and vice versa. The telling part of the exercise was the second part where each
group had done a pretty good job of guessing what the other group would be saying.

At the top of both their lists, there was a clear statement
about how much it means to them to be people of faith. And that, of course, was
the point. We’re all people of faith.

This is what it looks like to be in Christian community.
Ascension gathers under a wide, wide tent. Our diversity isn’t obvious to the
naked eye, but we are certainly diverse. No one is denied a place under that
tent. This isn’t easy to accomplish in our divided society, but by the grace of
God, we do it. I hope the people of Ascension can appreciate how extraordinary
they are.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to end the morning. I thought
of praying, or going back to the text from Ephesians. But when the time came, I
knew exactly how we needed to conclude our time together. We gathered about the
altar and communed one another with the bread and wine. And then we offered God’s
peace to one another. When we said, “Peace be with you” we looked one another
in the eye, and we meant it.

About Me

Nancy is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She serves at Ascension Lutheran Church in Towson, Maryland. Nancy grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, and then served time at Bowling Green State University, before moving on to Trinity Seminary in Columbus. Starting out in North Dakota, she then returned to Ohio and served churches there before landing in North Carolina, where she served at two different congregations in Charlotte. She was also on the bishop's staff and earned a PhD from Pitt during her spare time in the area of religion and education. She considers herself an educator who happens to be a pastor and it makes a difference in how she does ministry. She is a divorce survivor, and the mother of two artsy-fartsy children who abandoned her when they became adults. Now she shares a home with Father Guido Sarducci, her tuxedo cat.